There are innumerable devices and machines utilized to exercise the human body. Such devices and machines range from the common and simple, such as a rubber ball which is squeezed to develop the hand and wrist muscles, to complex equipment, such as the well-known NAUTILUS machine which aids in developing a variety of muscles.
The present invention was developed primarily as a result of efforts to combine many of the desirable features of both simple and complex exercise devices and machines into a single, simple exercise device. A patentability search was conducted for the present invention and the followng patents were uncovered:
______________________________________ Inventor Patent No. Issue Date ______________________________________ C. L. Randall 596,543 Jan. 4, 1898 J. Minor 777,478 Dec. 13, 1904 R. A. Wood 1,917,566 July 11, 1933 J. T. Nist 2,030,465 February 11, 1936 A. Shatto 2,163,107 June 20, 1939 K. Acs et al 3,115,338 Dec. 24, 1963 N. F. Brazier 3,502,329 March 24, 1970 Yamauchi 3,751,031 Aug. 7, 1973 Boyle 3,910,577 Oct. 7, 1975 Schuetz 4,069,932 March 21, 1978 Pugh et al 4,109,908 August 29, 1978 Hohenfeldt 4,168,060 Sept. 18, 1979 ______________________________________
The 1904 patent issued to Minor illustrates an exercising ball in which a plurality of different weights can be inserted into recesses 2, 3, 4, and 5. Handles 14 are provided for carrying and for exercise purposes.
The 1978 patent issued to Schuetz pertains to an athletic conditioning apparatus which can be selectively filled with water for varying its weight and which is provided with a handle 24 for use in various exercising activities and which has a circular hole 27 that also aids in performing exercises.
The 1898 patent issued to Randall sets forth and indian club in which a plurality of different weights can be inserted for exercise purposes.
The 1936 patent to Nist relates to a receptacle for carrying motion picture films.
The patents issued to Wood, Brazier, Boyle, Yamauchi, and Pugh all relate to different devices which can carry one or more weights, as required, and which attach in some fashion to some part of the body.
A drawback of prior art exercise devices is that each device is capable of being used to develop only a few, and not all of, the basic muscle groups.